List of U.S. state colors explained

This is the official list of each state's colors.

Alabama

Alabama does not have known official state colors.

Alaska

Alaska does not have known official state colors.

Arizona

Arizona's official colors are:

• Blue ("the same shade as that of the flag of the United States")
• Old gold

They were adopted in 1915^{[1] [2] [3]}

Arkansas

Arkansas does not have known official state colors.

California

California's official colors are:

• Blue
• Gold

First used by the University of California, Berkeley in 1875, and officially adopted by the state in 1951,^[4] blue represents the sky and gold represents the California Gold Rush.^[5]

The colors are defined by several different standards in law:^[6]

• International Commission on Illumination

• • Blue: Y 0.063 x 0.204 y 0.165
  • Gold: Y 0.449 x 0.474 y 0.458
• Munsell Renotation:
  • Blue: H V/C 7.3 PB 2.9/8.8
  • Gold: H V/C 2.0 Y 7.1/11.3
• Munsell Book Notation:
  • Blue: H V/C 7.2 PB 2.9/9.1
  • Gold: H V/C 1 Y 7.3/11

References:

• Color Association of the United States (Formerly Textile Color Card Association of New York, Inc.):
  • Blue: Yale Blue, cable number 70086, Standard Color Card of America, 9th edition.
  • Gold: Golden Yellow, cable number 65001, United States Army Card of Official Colors for Arms and Services.
• ISCC–NBS system

• • Yale Blue: Deep purplish blue.
  • Golden Yellow: Vivid yellow.

Colorado

Colorado does not have known official state colors.

Connecticut

Connecticut does not have known official state colors.

Delaware

Delaware's official colors are:^{[7] [8]}

• Colonial blue
• Buff

Further, "colonial blue and buff, are designated by the Textile Color Card Association of the United States, Inc., New York, as 'arno blue' Cable No. 10663, and 'golden beige' Cable No. 10781 respectively; the color shades having been determined by Colorimetric Specifications of the National Bureau of Standards, United States Department of Commerce, in Test No. 2, 1/140565, dated November 18, 1954, which is on file with the Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware."

Florida

Florida does not have known official state colors.

Georgia

Georgia does not have known official state colors.

Hawaii

Hawaii does not have known official colors for the entire state. However, Hawaii has legislated an official color for each of its eight main islands:^[9]

• Red (Hawaii)
• Pink (Maui)
• Golden yellow (Oahu)
• Purple (Kauai)
• Green (Molokai)
• Orange (Lanai)
• White (Niihau)
• Gray (Kahoolawe)

Idaho

Idaho does not have known official state colors.

Illinois

Illinois does not have known official state colors.

Indiana

Indiana's official colors are:^[10]

• Blue
• Gold

Iowa

Iowa does not have known official state colors.

Kansas

Kansas does not have known official state colors.

Kentucky

Kentucky does not have known official state colors.

Louisiana

Louisiana's official colors are:^{[11] [12]}

• Blue
• White
• Gold

They were adopted in 1972.

Maine

Maine does not have known official state colors.

Maryland

Maryland does not have known official state colors. Maryland's widely-used unofficial colors are:

• Red
• White
• Black
• Gold

The colors come from the state flag, which in turn uses the Baltimore and Crossland crests of the Calvert family.^[13] Maryland flag imagery (and in turn, the four colors of the flag, in varying shades) are used extensively in official government branding.^{[14] [15]}

Massachusetts

Massachusetts's official colors are:

• Blue
• Green
• Cranberry

They were adopted in 2005.^{[16] [17]}

Michigan

Michigan does not have known official state colors.

Minnesota

Minnesota does not have known official state colors.

Minnesota proposed in 2016 to make its official color

• Purple

in honor of the musician Prince; however, the motion did not succeed.^{[18] [19]}

Mississippi

Mississippi does not have known official state colors.

Missouri

Missouri does not have known official state colors.

Montana

Montana does not have known official state colors.

Nebraska

Nebraska does not have known official state colors.

Nevada

Nevada's official colors are:^{[20] [21]}

• Silver
• Blue

Blue stands for Lake Tahoe and the mountain bluebird, while silver stands for the granite of the Sierra Nevada and the silver country of northern Nevada.^{[22] [23]}

New Hampshire

New Hampshire does not have known official state colors.

New Hampshire proposed in 2013 to make the colors

• Orange
• Red
• Yellow

its official state colors; however, the motion did not succeed.^[24]

New Jersey

New Jersey's official colors are:^[25]

• Jersey Blue
• Buff

Using the Cable color system developed by the Color Association of the United States, Jersey Blue was defined as Cable No. 70087; Buff was defined as Cable No. 65015. The Office of the Secretary of State of New Jersey gives the blue and buff color hexadecimal equivalents as #2484C6 and #E1B584, respectively.^[26]

New Mexico

New Mexico does not have known official state colors.

New York

New York does not have known official state colors in law, but does define specific color shades in their official branding guide:^[27]

• Dark Blue
• Light Blue
• Gold

North Carolina

North Carolina's official colors are:

• Red
• Blue

Specifically, the same shades "appearing in the North Carolina State flag and the American flag."

North Dakota

North Dakota does not have known official state colors.

Ohio

Ohio does not have known official state colors in law, but does define specific color shades in their official branding guide,^[28] inspired by the Flag of Ohio:

• Buckeye Blue
• Cardinal Red
• White

Oklahoma

Oklahoma's official colors are:^{[11] [29]}

• Green
• White

Oregon

Oregon's official colors are:^[30]

• Navy blue
• Gold

They were adopted in 1959.^{[11] [31] [32]}

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania does not have known official state colors.

No official state colors are listed on the Commonwealth's State Symbols webpage,^[33] and no resolution or legislation designating state colors is known to exist.

Some sources erroneously cite blue and gold^[34] due to their prominence on the state license plate and the state flag, but these colors are coincidentally predominant on many current and historical US state license plates and on most blue "seal on a bedsheet" US state flags, including Pennsylvania's and at least 19 others.)

Rhode Island

Rhode Island has no known official state colors.

South Carolina

South Carolina's official color is:^[35]

• Indigo blue

It was adopted in 2008.^{[36] [37]}

South Dakota

South Dakota does not have known official state colors.

Tennessee

Tennessee does not have known official state colors.

Texas

Texas does not have known official state colors.

Utah

Utah does not have known official state colors.

Vermont

Vermont does not have known official state colors.

Vermont proposed in 2007 to make the colors

• Green
• Gold

its official state colors; however, the motion did not succeed.^[38]

Virginia

Virginia does not have known official state colors.

Washington

Washington does not have known official state colors.

No official state colors are listed the state legislature's State Symbols webpage^[39] nor in Chapter 1.20 of the Revised Code of Washington (where other official symbols are designated).^[40] Some sources list dark green and gold/yellow, the two colors specified for the flag by law since 1925.^[41]

West Virginia

West Virginia's official colors are:

• Old gold
• Blue

They were adopted in 1963.^{[42] [43]}

Wisconsin

Wisconsin does not have known official state colors.

Wyoming

Wyoming does not have known official state colors.

Wyoming proposed in 2003 to make the colors

• Brown
• Yellow

its official state colors in honor of the University of Wyoming Cowboys 1980 football uniforms; however, the motion did not succeed.^[44]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 41, Section 851 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220531021942/https://www.azleg.gov/viewDocument/?docName=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.azleg.gov%2Fars%2F41%2F00851.htm . May 31, 2022 . May 30, 2022 . Arizona State Legislature.
2. Web site: Arizona's State Symbols . Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records . November 8, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100607092126/http://www.azlibrary.gov/museum/symbols.aspx . 2010-06-07 .
3. Web site: Session laws, State of Arizona, 1915, Second Legislature, Regular Session, First and Second Special Sessions . https://web.archive.org/web/20220531024027/https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/api/collection/azsession/id/81/download . May 31, 2022 . May 30, 2022 . Arizona Memory Project.
4. Web site: California State Colors . NETSTATE . 1 September 2023.
5. http://www.library.ca.gov/history/symbols.html#Heading10 History and Culture - State Symbols
6. Web site: California Government Code, Title 1, Division 2, Chapter 2, Section 424 . 1 September 2023.
7. Web site: Delaware Code Online . delcode.delaware.gov . 3 March 2024.
8. https://delaware.gov/guides/facts/ Facts & Symbols - Guide
9. http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol01_Ch0001-0042F/HRS0005/HRS_0005-0016_0005.htm §5-16.5 Official island colors
10. Web site: Indiana Fun Facts . Indiana House Republicans. November 19, 2014. The state colors are blue and gold.. https://web.archive.org/web/20141129024942/http://www.state.in.us/legislative/house_republicans/student/facts.html . November 29, 2014 . dead.
11. http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_colors.htm Official State Colors
12. http://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=103554 Louisiana State Legislature RS 49:161
13. Web site: The Maryland State Flag . 2023-03-23 . Maryland Secretary of State . en-us.
14. Web site: Maryland Open For Business Brand Guide . Maryland Department of Commerce . 1 September 2023 . 2018.
15. Web site: Maryland Logo Standards . Maryland Department of Health . 1 September 2023.
16. http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf1a.htm Massachusetts Facts: State Symbols
17. https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleI/Chapter2/Section53 General Laws of Massachusetts Part I Title I Chapter 2 Section 53
18. Web site: Minnesota SF3595 2016 .
19. Web site: Purple as the official state color? Prince would approve. 23 April 2016.
20. Web site: Nevada NRS 235.025 .
21. Web site: Nevada Assembly Bill 666 (1983) .
22. http://www.nv.gov/new_kidshomework.htm#STATE%20SYMBOLS0 Nevada information: State symbols
23. Web site: Netstate: Nevada State Colors .
24. http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/bill_status.aspx?lsr=819&sy=2013&sortoption=&txtsessionyear=2013&q=1 Bill HB420
25. Web site: 52:2A-1. Official colors. https://web.archive.org/web/20180515044055/http://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll/statutes/1/43422/43435. dead. 2018-05-15. 2018-05-14. State of New Jersey.
26. Web site: Fisher. Lynn. New Jersey. 2021-09-17. US Flags [dot] Design. en.
27. Web site: March 31, 2015 . New York State Branding Overview, Guidelines and Architecture . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230331161518/https://esd.ny.gov/sites/default/files/rfp/08032015_NYS_BrandGuidelines.PDF . 2023-03-31 . 2023-07-20 . Empire State Development.
28. Web site: Ohio Brand Guide .
29. http://www.ok.gov/banking/documents/Annual%20Report%202010.pdf Oklahoma Banking Department Annual Report 2010
30. Web site: Oregon Revised Statutes, Title 19, Chapter 186 . Chapter 186.010 (2) . The official colors of the State of Oregon are navy blue and gold..
31. Web site: Oregon Guard Bulletin, May 1, 1936. Oregon State Library. November 19, 2014. The medal (...) is suspended from a ribbon of blue and gold, the official state colors..
32. Web site: Oregon Almanac: Dance to Hot Springs. Oregon Blue Book. November 19, 2014. Blue and gold are the state colors..
33. Web site: State Symbols . Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . 23 November 2023.
34. Web site: Pennsylvania State Colors. State Symbols USA. October 7, 2014.
35. News: Official State Symbols of North Carolina . State of North Carolina . North Carolina State Library . 2008-01-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080206210322/http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/SYMBOLS/SYMBOLS.HTM . 2008-02-06 . dead .
36. Web site: South Carolina State House: Colors & Textiles . South Carolina State House . October 30, 2012.
37. http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess117_2007-2008/bills/1033.htm S*1033 (Rat #0229, Act #0200 of 2008) General Bill, By Cromer and Campsen
38. http://www.leg.state.vt.us/database/status/summary.cfm?Bill=H.0184&Session=2008 Bill H.0184
39. Web site: State Symbols . Washington State Legislature . October 30, 2012.
40. Web site: Chapter 1.20 RCW, General Provisions . Washington State Legislature . Revised Code of Washington . October 30, 2012.
41. Web site: RCW 1.20.010, State flag . Washington State Legislature . Revised Code of Washington . October 30, 2012.
42. Web site: State Symbols . West Virginia's State Treasurer's Office . July 18, 2012 . dead . https://archive.today/20130209191303/http://www.wvsto.com/dept/FinEd/Teachers/Kids/StateEmblems/Pages/Symbols.aspx . February 9, 2013 .
43. Web site: Departmental, Statistical and General Information. West Virginia Legislature. November 19, 2014.
44. https://wyoleg.gov/2003/introduced/hb0108.pdf Bill HB0108